The first week lunch was quite an experience. In Korea, teachers do no bring their lunch to school. You can, but they will definitely think you are strange. They want you to try their meals and they will watch to see your reactions. The first few weeks Cory and I only ate the white rice. Every thing else was either spicy (which Cory liked) or fishy. I definitely lucked out with my teacher being a picky eater though. She also does not like many Korean dishes, so she would not ask me to try them. By the end of our work day… Cory and I would be soooo hungry! Therefore, I challenged myself to keep trying the food. Then all of a sudden, one day I could not wait to get to lunch to eat KIMCHI! Kimchi?!? You have got to be kidding me?! But yes, I actually love it now; nothing like fermented cabbage in spicy red sauce for lunch. I can’t even explain it but I am now eating all of this Korean food and I actually like it! Before, coming here I could not even eat a hot Cheeto, and my have things changed. I am still not used to fish. I actually gag every time I accidentally eat it. I tell them I am allergic here… haha which I think throwing up in front of everyone kinda counts as being “allergic” ;) Some days lunches are amazing. We may have Korean curry, orange chicken, broccoli and cheddar soup, delicious fruit, beef, and of course kimchi. But, there are definitely the days when they plop a fried fish on your tray along with fish soup. Those are always the meals that the students love. Thank God for the white rice on those days :) Today I happened to eat a lot of my lunch and dare I say I am becoming a master at chopsticks! I have been getting quite a lot of compliments now instead of laughs and, “why don’t you just use your spoon.” Lesson learned – always challenge yourself to try new things!
^ typical Korean lunch
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